Mousse: Savoury (Ham Mousse / Chicken Liver Mousse)

Ingredients

• 500 g cooked ham, York ham or similar cured, cooked ham of genuine character — not processed deli meat
• 250 ml heavy cream, 35% fat; whipped to soft peak only
• 12 g gelatin, bloomed in warm stock or water, then cooled to approximately 25°C
• 100 ml warm stock or water, for blooming and dissolving the gelatin
• as required aspic, correctly made (Entry 53) or commercial; for glazing and presentation

Method

1. 1
   Process the cooked ham in a food processor to a smooth purée. Pass the entire purée through a fine drum sieve. The sieve cannot be skipped: any fibrous or gristly element that survives the processor will register clearly in the finished mousse. The purée is ready when it passes through the sieve without visible fibre and sits uniformly smooth on the blade.
2. 2
   Season the purée aggressively at room temperature. A cold preparation loses approximately 20–25% of its perceived seasoning intensity when aerated and chilled. Season until the purée tastes almost aggressively salty and intensely flavoured at room temperature — this is the correct level. A mousse seasoned to taste balanced when warm will taste flat and underseasoned when chilled. This is where the dish lives or dies: if the seasoning is not corrected here, nothing done afterwards will rescue it.
3. 3
   Bloom the gelatin in warm stock or water. Dissolve fully and cool to approximately 25°C. Fold into the seasoned purée until uniformly incorporated. The mixture should remain fluid and smooth, with no visible gelatin streaks.
4. 4
   Whip the cream to soft peak only — the cream should hold a shape that folds gently back on itself. Stiff peak produces air cells that are too small and too rigid; the finished mousse will feel dense, more like aerated pâté than mousse. Fold the cream into the purée in three additions. The combined mousse should feel noticeably airy and light against the spoon — significantly lighter than the purée alone.
5. 5
   Pour into a lightly oiled terrine or individual moulds. Refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours. The set mousse is ready when its surface is smooth and slightly domed, and firm to a press without yielding — more rigid than a sweet bavarois.
6. 6
   Unmould. If a glazed finish is required, coat with semi-set aspic (Entry 53) before service. Bring the mousse to cool room temperature — 12–14°C — before serving. At this temperature the fat in the cream and the flavour compounds of the ham are more volatile and more perceptible than they are directly from the refrigerator.